Ginny Gilder, owner of the WNBA's Seattle Storm, opened Pickle at the Palms, a 20-court indoor pickleball facility in Seattle's Interbay, on August 24. At about 54,000 square feet (roughly 5,000 square meters), it is among the largest indoor court complexes in the city. A person who runs a pro basketball team chose pickleball courts as her next investment, and the move says plenty to players in Japan short of courts, because it gives a concrete answer to who puts up the money and what arrangement makes a large indoor venue work.
Three members of the Gilder family laid 20 courts across 54,000 square feet
Pickle at the Palms is a family-run operation, with Gilder working alongside her daughter Sierra Kealer and son-in-law Kyle Schrader. The 20 courts are built to competition spec and laid out over two levels. Inside there is a loft lounge for events and socializing, a pro shop, and a cafe called Mainstay Provisions serving coffee, food and alcohol. It opens from 7:00 in the morning to 11:00 at night. What stands out is that it is designed not simply as a place to hit but as a place where people linger and gather.
The building was converted from a former interiors space into a competition facility, with a roughly 200-foot mural by local artists on the inner walls. The thinking runs throughout: not just packing in courts, but making the place somewhere people want to go.
The person who built the team's practice facility moved that method to pickleball
Gilder is the majority owner of the Seattle Storm and led development of the team's dedicated practice base, the BECU Storm Center for Basketball Performance. The experience of building a facility from scratch so players could train in the best environment carries straight into these 20 courts. Capital that understands pro sports promotion and facility operation has moved sideways into a growing sport.
At the opening, Gilder described the aim by saying that people need places where they can gather with each other. She put the value of a social space under a roof ahead of competition and results. That reading matters for making an indoor facility profitable, because it feeds directly into a design that extends time on site and spend per visitor through the cafe and events, not just court utilization.
A revenue model that runs a $250 annual membership alongside pay-as-you-play
Pricing comes in two lines: a core membership at $250 a year (about 37,000 yen at an approximate 148 yen to the dollar) and pay-as-you-play. Lessons and leagues are built in as revenue sources too. Members provide a base of fixed income while non-member visitors are not turned away, a design aimed at lifting utilization across a 20-court indoor space.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Number of courts | 20 indoor courts (two levels) |
| Total floor area | About 54,000 square feet (roughly 5,000 square meters) |
| Core annual membership | $250 (about 37,000 yen), combined with pay-as-you-play |
| Hours | 7:00〜23:00 |
| Opening | August 24, 2026 |
Yen figures are approximate at 148 yen to the dollar, converted from figures published in the United States; check the operator's announcements for exact pricing.
Set beside Inatori's 20 courts and Rusutsu, Japan's challenge comes into view
Large indoor and outdoor builds are advancing in Japan too. In Inatori in Higashiizu, tennis courts were converted intothe country's largest pickleball complex at 20 courts, matching Pickle at the Palms on size alone. Kamori Kanko isplanning to expand from 28 courts to 44 across Rusutsu and Izu, and resort operators are stacking up courts in earnest.
The difference lies in where the capital comes from and in the design thinking that turns courts into socializing and revenue. In Seattle, a team owner who knows the business built the cafe, the lounge and the membership together from the start. Most large facilities in Japan started as add-ons to resorts or tourism, and building a year-round member base is still ahead of them. Set againstthe crowd-building design of The Nest in North America, which drew people on opening day from its mall location, it becomes clear that the key to running a large indoor venue is not the number of courts but how carefully time on site is built.
What players in Japan can take from this is the pricing structure and the services attached. Do you secure a place to play with an annual membership, or keep the flexibility of paying per visit? A facility with a cafe or a lounge lets you stay and talk with friends after practice. When choosing an indoor court, an eye for the revenue design and the space to sit, not just court count and flooring, is going to matter.
What happens next in Japan
What Pickle at the Palms shows is capital and operating know-how from pro sports flowing into pickleball facilities. If teams or promoters in Japan move into the court business, the scale of Inatori or Rusutsu could gain a design thinking built around socializing and membership. Next time you book an indoor facility, work out once whether an annual membership or pay-as-you-go fits how often you play, and you will not lose out on where you choose to go.
